Hi, I have had MAV for 3 years and thought I was generally on top of my symptoms by taking Nortriptyline daily. I was quite happy taking 90mg and then started to try and reduce my medication. Since then I have had a couple of relapses , my last episode seemingly triggered by over exercising on holiday and travelling back in a car for 7 hours. I felt fine on holiday but the day I got home I got terrible dizziness which has subsided a little in the last week but not gone completely and definately not back to my baseline which is frustrating. I just wondered if doing 3 hour walks on holiday is deemed too much for a MAV sufferer? I am quite strict with my diet but will have the occassional decaff coffee but have been told that even decaff coffee has caffeine in. Im unsure whether I need to increase my dose again or if this episode will subside? My consultant is great but is unable to get back to me as quickly as Id like! Any comments much appreciated!
Gah, Helen, sorry to hear you’ve had a relapse, how annoying! We want more recovery stories! 
I am on 20mg Amitriptyline (no idea what’s equivalent in Nori terms but I know they are similar). I run every 2 to 3 days around 5km. I also walk a lot and cycle. I personally don’t think you can overdo exercise. One board member puts exercise down as one of the main reasons for his complete recovery (Beatles909). I recently I got back to running and had a week of almost no dizziness 2 weeks into the regime.
Coffee: I sometimes have a cap or a latte and have not had any ill effects from it. In fact quite the opposite - recently I had a tension headache growing and one latte really knocked it on its head. I did feel a bit ‘swimmy’ though, but I’ll take that over headache pain!
Do you have ear symptoms? I gauge my condition by the amount of tinnitus I have and any ear pressure I feel. The recent subsidence in dizziness was also accompanied by occasionally have a few hours of almost no tinnitus.
Relapses happen with this thing, don’t let it get you down. Every time I have one I fear I’ll never feel good again, but invariable I eventually feel ‘fine’ again (MAV baseline fine which is probably 90% of how I felt before it started.)
Hi,
I have ear symptoms continually. As soon as I open my eyes in the morning I get a humming in my ear which is low level and during the day can only hear it if there is silence. I have been back at work for two years but had to go part time. I used to go out socially and have a few glasses of vino but this condition has changed my whole life. I do try to stay positive and focus on the things that I can still do but the fatigue can be disabling sometimes as Im sure lots of people on here know! Still this website is great for getting advice, support and sharing stories. Thank you.
I hear you. I’m virtually tee total these days and much less sociable, but I do try and get out of the house as much as possible, especially during daylight. Exercise is SOOOO important for your sense of wellbeing. I’m convinced exercise also helps to ‘mix it up’ in your ear and help the process of clearing out the crap.
My noises are not a hum, but a high pitched hiss or buzz. Recently there have been times when its actually disappeared for periods of time. Interestingly my balance has recently been good too …